Larry Correia - Spellbound

“Your Chairman underestimated her once, too. Look where that got him.”

Toru’s hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.

“Faye’s the strongest Active we’ve got left,” Sullivan said. “If I draw that spell again, and she uses her Power on it, maybe we can trap the demon inside for a while.” It was a desperate idea, but it was all that he could come up with besides running away, and he didn’t like running away any more than he liked losing.

The roaring and crashing of the demon had been so continuous that its sudden silence froze them all in their tracks. They all turned to look at the now quiet beast. It had stopped mid-rampage, through another of the great marble buildings. Struggling human figures were clutched in its hands, and it had been interrupted before it could shove them into its mouths. The four cavernous eyes narrowed. If something so hideously ugly could be said to have an expression, Sullivan would’ve had to guess that it seemed puzzled.

Then it exploded.

The demon seemed to stretch, bulging like an overinflated tire, and then it simply erupted into a million pieces. Animated flesh was sprayed in every direction, much of it dissipating before it hit the ground. Thousands of gallons of demon ink spilled, like a dam had burst, and it rushed across the ruined Mall, washing the stragglers away, collecting in the craters, and pouring down the cracks.

“I think we found Faye.” Lance said. “Told you.”

The body was destroyed, its spirit banished. The Mall had been transformed into a scene from Hell. Everything was black, either from ash or ink. A pile of dissolving meat was spread over acres. Burning trees and spotlights from the Lexington provided just enough light to see the carnage. The air was choked with a stinking toxic haze. A thick plume of smoke stretched upward until it disappeared into the night sky.

The mob had stopped, staring in shocked disbelief at the destruction. Then there arose a ragged cheer. It was the sound of thousands, thankful to live another day. Sullivan knew from experience that after the elation passed, then there would be the anger and grief over the ones that hadn’t been so lucky.

Dan studied the ragged crowd. He was thinking the same thing. “Let’s get out of here before they recall what brought them here in the first place…”

Arlington, Virginia

Francis woke up groggy. He was in a small, plain room, completely empty of furnishings except for a wool blanket somebody had wrapped him in. There was no window covering, and from the fuzzy light, he guessed it was just before sunrise. The house was quiet as he took in the humble surroundings. It was a hell of a lot better than a prison cell.

The last thing he remembered was getting shot several times while trying to reach the OCI truck. Everything after that was a blur. Since he was alive, and it didn’t feel like there were any extra holes in him, he could safely assume that he’d gotten to a Healer somehow. Sitting up took some effort. Being Mended would keep you alive, but the soreness had a way of lingering.

“Francis?”

It hurt to turn his head. “Faye?” She had appeared in the middle of the room. Her sudden arrivals no longer startled him like they used to. He started to ask her what had happened, but then he saw the terrible state she was in. Clothing tattered, splattered in dried blood and ink, with scratches on her face, and a hand that was blistered and red, Faye just stood there, wobbling like she was about to collapse. “Faye!” Francis heaved himself to his feet, tossed aside the blanket, and went to her. He caught her as she fell into his arms and gently lowered her to the floor. He brushed the matted hair away from her face. “What’s wrong?”

She pulled his head down and kissed him on the lips. The intensity surprised him. When she finally let go, Faye gave him the saddest smile he’d ever seen on her face. “Nothing’s wrong now.”

When Francis woke up again, strong daylight was beaming through the windows. Hours had passed. The air smelled like smoke and he didn’t know why. Voices could be heard outside. Browning was giving orders. It sounded like it was time to clear out.

He rolled over and reached out, but the blanket was empty. Faye was gone. Not surprising, considering her seemingly boundless energy, she had probably Traveled away to go do something useful or heroic. That was simply how she was, and he loved her for it. Her absence made him sad, but it was good in one way, because things had just become a lot more complicated between the two of them and it would be nice to at least have a chance to think things over before she popped back in.

What was there to think about though? This was Faye… She was a force of nature. Francis knew that he was a handsome, talented, sought-after bachelor-not to mention incredibly rich-but here he was.. wondering what she saw in him. Funny how things work out sometimes.

His fingers brushed against a piece of paper so he dragged it over. Still flat on his back, he unfolded the note. Faye’s handwriting was horrible, but reading and writing had never been very important in her life before the Grimnoir, so it was to be expected.

Dear Francis I am real sorry. I have to go away for a while. I learned some things about how come my magic is different from everybody else. There is a curse on me and I do not want to become a monster. I got to figure out what to do about it. There is someone I have to find. Please do not look for me. It is better this way. Some of the elders were so scared of what I am that they sent Whisper to kill me. From what I know now they were probably right to. But Whisper died to help me instead. She was very brave. I made her a promise so now I have to figure out how to keep it. Please do not tell the others that I am alive. It is safer that way. When I thought you were gone I wanted to die inside. I was so scared. No matter what happens I am glad that I found you. I come from nothing and you come from everything but I love you Francis and I want to marry you and be your wife. But first there are monsters outside and monsters inside and I have to figure out how to beat both kinds. More bad things are coming. I know it. And I have to be ready. I do not know how long I will be gone but I will be back. If I do not come back it is because I messed up and died. If I die I want you to go and be happy without me. So I need you to be brave for me.

Love

Faye

There were soft spots on the paper that were still damp. Francis thought that they might have come from tears.

The bag was removed from his head, revealing that they were in the kitchen of an average home. A large recording device had been set before him. The man who had removed the bag paused to turn on the audio recorder before taking a seat.

The Coordinator of Information, Doctor Bradford Carr, found himself sitting across the table from two dangerous Actives. The Grimnoir had finally decided to interrogate him. Very well… He had nothing to hide, and wouldn’t have been able to hide anything from the likes of these anyway. He recognized both of them from the OCI files: Daniel Garrett, former radio celebrity and Mouth, and Pemberly Hammer, former asset of Mr. Crow, a Justice. One could convince him of anything and the other could detect any falsehood.